A place for former members of Sukyo Mahikari, and members who are considering leaving Mahikari, to share information and discuss issues

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Mahikari & Swami Rama <4> - Rama can cure any diseases?

There is a big question mark over how well Okada and Rama understood each other, and also over how truthfully Okada reported what the yogi had said. It's like the story of the 1959 "first revelation". There seems not much truth in what Okada said. When you try to find some facts in Okada's words, you'll see "the clouds of illusion" appearing, making things "vague and inconclusive". [Note1]

But, let's follow the line of Okada's stories for the moment.

According to Okada, Rama believed the claim that "Mahikari-no-waza cures diseases". This statement which Okada confidently made is not, after all, the reality. [Note2] There is little difference between this claim of Okada's and his other delusional teachings. He made groundless things sound as if they were solid facts. Among them were: Japan was the land of origin of mankind; The Japanese is the race with the oldest civilization in the world; The Land of Mu was ruled by the ancient Japanese emperors; Mu and Atlantis had wars with atomic and hydrogen bombs; The super ancient history has started being backed up by studies; and so on. [Note3]

Okada's words shown below indicate that Rama also believed his explanation that anybody who had taken the three-day Mahikari primary course could perform tekazashi (Mahikari-no-waza), being able to cure any diseases and perform miracles. Of course, that's what Okada wanted his followers to believe, but it may be safe to wonder whether Rama actually believed every word of Okada's as it was.

Mr Rahmu told me this at the end: I can actually cure any diseases like you, Mr Okada, with my power of "gyo" (ascetic training). Even now I teach it as the ultimate secret of yoga to my disciples. It is yoga's ultimate secret. But I don't understand where what you call light comes from. I was taken by my master at the age of three. For 40 years since then I've gone through thorough training in the Himalayas. But you, Mr Okada, haven't done any "gyo". You were in the military, you say. How come you teach people for only three days and all of them perform miracles here and there? Only five or six among my disciples have come to be able to do that. Yet, you, Mr Okada, teach that to all of your followers. What on earth is the secret? ----- "Go-taidan-shuu" (Japanese, p.306-307)

◆ I can actually cure any diseases like you, Mr Okada, with my power of "gyo"

According to Okada, Rama said that he could cure any diseases. However, it is questionable whether this yogi actually said so, and whether he actually did cure any diseases. Okada made quite dubious statements about Rama's abilities, such as he could make himself disappear in front of other people, he could lift his body about one meter up in the motionless sitting position, and so on, to make the yogi sound very mysterious. [Note 4]

There is a website where Rama's talk on health can be read. [Note 5] He recommends simple and nutritious food. Vegetables and fruits. Don't overcook. Avoid too much fat, salt, and sugar. Chew the food well. Keep good posture. Have some physical exercise. Etc. Many of these are rather normal things, merely indicating that he encouraged a healthy life style. He says nothing that relates to Mahikari's claim that the cause of diseases is "spirit disturbance".

According to Okada, the cause of diseases is mostly "spirit disturbance". He claimed that Mahikari-no-waza would dissolve that "spirit disturbance" and liberate mankind from diseases. If so, doing tekazashi alone should be enough to not contract diseases. It would also mean that there is no need for the various physical measures for disease prevention which Rama talks about. Okada's and his Mahikari's advertising phrases are: Mahikari-no-waza melts the accumulated toxins in the body, dissolves "spirit disturbance", and allows followers to obtain ken-wa-fu (health-harmony-wealth).

However, I didn't see anybody among so-called kumite who obtained ken-wa-fu as a result of joining Mahikari. Mahikari is well prepared for members not being able to obtain ken-wa-fu. The typical excuse is that it is due to the depth of the individual's sins and karma, even though nobody can tell how deep or otherwise these are, or even prove that such things exist. There seems to be some kind of deception in Mahikari-no-waza itself and the claimed benefits, don't you think?

Okada's claim that Mahikari-no-waza can liberate mankind from diseases does not match reality. You can see that through various comments on the internet. Mahikari members, even the staff, are not immune to disease. Some even end up with death. The real situation is far from "being liberated from diseases". That means, here too, that Okada's confident words are not worthy of trust. I myself saw and heard people who, believing Mahikari, made great efforts giving and receiving tekazashi, and serving Mahikari, but died in the end. There are various excuses for not benefiting from Mahikari's sound-good and promising phrases. Among them are: couldn't erase his/her karma; couldn't catch up with the divine plan; wasn't permitted to receive the divine arrangement; born in the astral world in order to erase his/her family karma; we can't judge since there is depth of the depth in the divine arrangements; and so on. There is no way to prove that these interpretations are true, but Mahikari followers are made to accept them as explanations of events.

By the way, it is important to recognize the reality that the Mahikari organization itself -- more specifically, Oshie-nushi (the spiritual leader) and the top staff members -- has obtained "wealth" ("fu" is also seen translated as "prosperity" in English, but it is more directly "wealth"). It's not a small amount, but an absurdly huge amount of money obtained through collecting money offerings made by its followers under the various donation categories. It is important to clearly recognize this reality.

No wonder that many of the people in the world see Mahikari as a religious cult which is out to make money. It was not until I started to have questions about Mahikari that I came to see this as being a rather reasonable opinion on Mahikari. When I was involved in the cult, I was blinded to this realistic point of view by Okada's (and the subsequent group's) claims such as "the criticism like that is the evil words of evil gods", "the staff in the organization have to live, too", "it's important to sever attachment to monetary matters", and so on. I loyally made offerings from the money I had earned through sincere work. My recognition of the reality was paralyzed in a way which was convenient to the Mahikari organization, believing it was for mankind. This is an example of mind control.

Well, according to the website of Rama's disciples, there was an episode in which a sick person recovered as soon as Rama entered the room where he was lying. [Note 7] This story can be interpreted like this: the yogi's appearance itself cured the sick person. He didn't raise his hand with the intention to cure the sick person.

In reality, the sick person might already have been heading for recovery. Then, a stranger came in, an Indian, with different skin colour, features and physique, and in addition, wearing a unique robe. The sight of him might have surprised the sick person and had a beneficial effect on his mood.

If the "spiritual power" of this yogi had a direct impact on the sick person's recovery, this would indicate a miraculous healing power. That would mean his "spiritual healing power" was so effective that Mahikari's tekazashi is no match for it. It is outstanding if he taught this power to his disciples, even if it was only five or six of them that acquired the power.

In Mahikari they often say, "It doesn't matter whether diseases are cured or not. It purifies the spiritual aspect." They are told that it achieves purification, and as a result, they believe it to be a fact, but they are not supposed to expect good results (that is, diseases certainly being cured) from it. Without any proof of purification and any reliable results, the claim that it purifies the spiritual aspect sounds like a product of delirium.

This, too, tells that tekazashi is not effective after all. Then, isn't there something fishy about the claim that Okada, who hasn't done 'gyo', is able to teach, in a three-day course, the same power as the one which this yogi has learned through a 40-year thorough ascetic training and that anybody who takes the three-day course can exercise this power?

Maybe it's not Mahikari-no-waza itself that works - when it appears to work - but Mahikari probably uses so-called "hand power", which is available to anyone and includes the likes of "Pain, pain, go away". Another angle is that followers are induced to apply Mahikari's interpretations to surrounding events due to the suggestions that tekazashi purifies things, and that it brings about some changes. If so, it is ridiculous to make declarations such as "it's the divine art which has been permitted to mankind by God for the first time through Okada."

By the way, what has happened to Rama's disciples who acquired "the ultimate secret of yoga," that is, according to Okada, "the power of healing any diseases" through raising their hands? The yogi had nearly 30 years more to live after he met Okada for the first time. The number of those disciples who obtained that power should have increased during that period, don't you think? Where are they? Why haven't we heard at least rumors of them?

And another thing to add: the sick person and his family who experienced and saw this "miraculous event" don't seem to have been made to accept the ideas of sins and spiritual impurities by this yogi, or been forced to show gratitude and worship the yogi as being "the savior of mankind," or told to dedicate their lives (including the body and soul as well as the contents of their purses) to this yogi.

[Note 1] Mahikari Primary Kenshuu Textbook - based upon lectures by the Founder Okada for his primary course; Chapter 11, The Process of Mankind's Search for Happiness and Its Destination, (p 30, early 1980's English edition), where the words such as "the clouds of materialism and illusion" and "culture of darkness (the era when everything is vague and inconclusive)" are used.

[Note 3] Earlier posts in this blog: "The world of Mahikari" (Japanese~ 01/2007) "The world of Mahikari - 3" (Japanese~ 03/2007) "The World of Mahikari - 6" (Japanese~ 07/ 2007) "Okada's teachings concerning the history of Japan and the world" (Japanese~ 08/2008) "Okada said, 'The super ancient history is being backed up by studies . . . ' " (Japanese~ 09/2008)

The followings also express the promise of "freedom from diseases and disorders of any kind."

●As long as you are with me, Su God will give you His love and compassion. He will grant you freedom from suffering, poverty, and disease, and He will free you from eternal death. ----- "Dai-seishu" (English edition, p107)

●1 Freedom from illness b. Your physical body will be converted to a state of health. ----- Mahikari primary kenshuu textbook; Chap.3, The practice of divine teachings and its amazingly instant effects. (An English edition, p9)

2 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Why is it that I am seeing and hearing about more and more kumites who have been in Sukyo Mahikari having life threatening diseases after many many years of dedicated "Divine service" in SM? Even their staff members (kanbu). Something definitely smells fishy here. Forget about the promised Ken Wa Fu if you join SM.

So many kumite get cancer and sometimes they realize too late because they search for a spiritual cause and natural remedies for their symptoms. SM covers their assess by saying modern medicine has a purpose but at the same time they poison our minds against it. Some refuse treatment, some pass away. And the rest of the kumite say smug and hurtful things to the family. Blaming them for their impure sonen, not having an ancestors altar, not making enough efforts... damage. SM does damage to families and people. I feel really sorry for the youth.

About Me

If you see strange little boxes in some posts, change your browser's encoding setting to Unicode (UTF8), or set it to auto-detect Japanese. This will make Japanese text display correctly. (English will still display the same as usual.)